In response to ongoing expansion of neoliberal ideology in democratic education, this essay details a classroom experiment that attempts to "redo," or "recraft" democracy. Recrafting democracy, in this context, takes shape in active efforts to compose an agonistic public sphere through a specific kind of "lettering a…

This case study uses a diversity and critical thinking exercise in a photojournalism class to show how journalism educators can incorporate race and gender conversations about ethics and judgment into traditionally skills-oriented courses. It is crucial that journalism students learn how to apply their skills properly in an era of social unrest,…

In this paper we provide two concrete examples of class assignments, developed by the authors, which challenge students to think more critically about themselves, their cultural values and beliefs, and the "invisible forces" that shape their perspectives. We include samples from students' work and our reflections to demonstrate the types…

What began in a library science course as a collection development project serendipitously transformed into varied learning experiences for students across disciplines and program levels. This article shares the journey of how a singular lesson idea blossomed into an unintentional, multidisciplinary project that led to unexpected learning outcomes…

Many developmental writing courses in colleges focus on teaching students isolated skills, with little emphasis on how such skills are applicable to the actual process of writing. This article focuses on capturing the perspectives of students enrolled in a developmental writing course designed around an explicit process-oriented pedagogy. The…

The goal of most researchers is to establish competence in one's profession; however, the degree to which this is measured in a research course is undetermined. The assessment of research competency usually involves the distinct measures of statistical ability, writing ability, and other skills that are quantifiable. Soft skills in research, on…

Assessing student learning outcomes and determining achievement of the Interprofessional Collaborative Practice (IPCEP) Core Competency of Values/Ethics in a generic pre-professional Bachelor of Science in Health Science (BSHS) program is challenging. A course level Student Learning Outcome (SLO) is: "….articulate the impact of personal…

In recognition of various power systems within and surrounding their classrooms, U.S. women's studies instructors have for several decades worked to reconfigure the college classroom as an environment that enables all students to speak, thus creating empowered communities and ultimately inspiring the next generation of leaders. As some of the most…

Best practices research on plagiarism in the University classroom shows that modifying assignments and classroom environment can have a positive effect on lowering a student's desire to cheat. James Lang suggests four features of a learning environment that can be fostered to ameliorate a student's desire to cheat: mastery of the material for its…

Improved writing can help students in their academic and professional careers, thus this action research project examined the use of three revision strategies in a graduate course by collecting three sources of data. One-sample t-tests revealed no significant differences across paper scores. However, students indicated rough drafts and rewrites…

This paper describes the long-term re-development of an introductory graduate research methods course. The initial design is presented, followed by the two re-design phases. Phase 2 introduced additional inquiry-based strategies such as concept mapping and multiple levels of peer collaboration. Phase 3 incorporated competency-based techniques as…

This article details what resulted when I re-designed my undergraduate statistics course to allow failure as a learning strategy and focused on achievement rather than performance. A variety of within and between sample t-tests are utilized to determine the impact of unlimited test and quiz opportunities on student learning on both quizzes and…

A convenient cluster sample of 105 undergraduate students at a regional university in the midsouth completed a survey regarding their use of college textbooks, what strategies might increase the likelihood of their reading textbook assignments, and their preference for how class time was used. Descriptive analysis was conducted on the results and…

Service learning is a well established pedagogy within higher education. Specifically, service learning allows students to engage in "real world" activities to practice skills and reflect upon their own competence. To enhance the effectiveness of service learning, instructors need to consider a multitude of learning influences. This…

This article relates the efforts of faculty at one community college to define standards for achievement of two SLOs (critical thinking and effective communication) and to gather and analyze evidence of how well students meet those standards. Faculty from 13 disciplines assessed writing samples from 265 students. We found that, in general,…